


Lotus

by Starlight1395



Series: Heroes Among Us [1]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Blood, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, hero Astro, villain Sanha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-06 13:00:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16388198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlight1395/pseuds/Starlight1395
Summary: Lotus, the one villain that keeps slipping through Astro's fingers. No matter what they did, Lotus seemed one step ahead of them - which was even more frustrating when Lotus was obviously a kid in a handmade sweatshirt and mask.When Lotus goes missing, Astro begins to piece together just who the so called villain is, and they realize just how wrong they were about their Nemesis.





	1. Chapter 1

“Everyone on the ground!” Lotus yelled loudly, causing everyone to cower. The teller at the bank looked up at him in fear, tears running down her cheeks as she shook. He looked at her for a moment before looking back at the people on the floor. “I’ll know if you try to call the police so don’t bother. If you want to survive, you’ll do as you’re told.”

He turned his full attention to the teller, who squeaked in fear, which was almost laughable.

When Lotus first started his crimes, people found him funny. He was tall and lanky, with a mint green hoodie that he hand painted a flower on and a mask that he bought at the Halloween store when it was open - one with white lace and little flowers glued on it. After people stopped snickering, they thought maybe Lotus was a hero - maybe part of the famous superhero team Astro that worked with the police to keep the city safe.

Then Lotus took out his gun.

Then no one was laughing.

He pointed his gun at the teller, whose eyes grew wide with fear. She stared up at the barrel of his gun when realization passed through her eyes. She opened her mouth, but he put a finger to his lips, which were turned up at the corners. Her eyes widened and barely nodded her head. He glanced behind him and saw the man from his vision sitting on the ground, looking disgruntled but not afraid. The teller’s eyes followed and she saw the man too. She realized the man wasn’t afraid, and that there was something in his jacket.

She turned back to Lotus, who nodded faintly back. Her face filled with understanding but she still didn’t move.

“I don’t want any trouble ma’am.” Lotus said loudly, bringing attention back onto him.

Thirty more seconds.

“What do you want?” The woman asked, her voice still trembling.

Twenty.

“You know fully well what I want,” Lotus said, trying to sound angry. He pressed the gun to the woman’s head and she closed her eyes tightly. “Don’t play with me.”

Five.

“I-” the woman started before the doors were blown open.

Right on time.

The five heros came rushing in, just as Lotus’ vision told him they would. Burnout rushed in first, creating a wall of fire between Lotus and the captives. Lotus could feel the heat from the flames but he wasn’t worried. Rocky rushed forward through the flames, throwing Lotus against a wall. His head slammed against the concrete but he didn’t feel any blood run down his neck, which was a blessing. He knew it was going to hurt but there was no way around it. Now that they were there, it was time for Lotus to leave.

He dodged the next hit from Rocky and dashed through the wall of flames. He felt he fire bite his arm, but he was out of the bank before anyone had time to blink. Burnout let the fire wall drop as Bloodhound called out to him. Someone in the crowd had a gun. Burnout jumped into action and wrestled the man to the ground, calling out for Rocky to hold him in place as he handcuffed him.

Time Skip looked out the doors, in the direction that Lotus ran, confused. He looked down and saw Lotus’ gun had been left behind. With agile fingers, he picked it up and twirled it around with a boxy grin. It was much lighter than he thought it was going to be, and he nearly threw it across the bank. He quickly picked up it and looked around to make sure no one saw. Unfortunately Bloodhound was snickering at him, the eldest of their group never able to keep a straight face for long. Skip tucked the gun in his waistband and went to join the others, forgetting about the oddness of the weapon.

* * *

  
Sanha dragged himself to class with much hesitance. The boy wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but he needed the class time to work on his project, which he couldn’t get at his apartment. This professor was an asshole like that.

“Hey, you look like shit.” His friend, Haechan, came over.

“Wow, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Sanha deadpanned, not feeling up to humoring the other boy. He sighed and brushed his bangs from his face with his free hand, his other one occupied with his notebooks. His backpack bounced against his back, but it was smaller and was filled with a singed sweatshirt, a mask and his wallet - no room for textbooks.

“Holy shit what happened to your hand?” Haechan wasn’t smiling anymore.

“What? Oh…” Sanha look at the bandaging with a frown. “I, um, burnt it while making dinner last night.”

“You have to be more careful,” The other boy scolded. “I’ve been offering to come over and make you food but you keep saying no!”

“I really do appreciate your offers, but I don’t want to be a bother,” Sanha smiled innocently. “I know how busy you are, and besides… I can handle a burn here and there.” Haechan narrowed his eyes at the taller boy for a moment before accepting his excuse and changing the subject.

“Did you hear what happened last night?” he asked, gently taking Sanha’s books and carrying them for the other boy. Sanha shook his head. “Lotus held up a bank for almost an hour before Astro came! He got away again, though… I wonder when they’re going to catch him.”

“Maybe there’s a reason they never catch him?” Sanha said, trying to hide the tremor in his voice.

“He’s a bad guy Sanha! Bad guys get caught. That’s how it works.” Haechan said with complete conviction. Sanha felt his stomach drop.

“Yeah… I guess…” He muttered, shifting his backpack. Suddenly, the bag seemed to weight ten times as much.

“I don’t get it. He looks so young on the news and stuff… what kind of messed up does someone have to be to be a villain so young? He must have had a really fucked up childhood or something…” Haechan shook his head and frowned. “I just hope they catch him and lock him up before he hurts anyone.”

“Yeah..." Sanha felt his eyes sting. “I actually have to use the bathroom real quick. I’ll meet you in class.”

Before Haechan could respond, Sanha sprinted off

* * *

  
“Again, Lotus?” Burnout called over to the younger boy. Lotus was standing in the movie theater lobby, watching the team of superheroes from a distance.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Lotus said suddenly. He felt so, so tired. Burnout frowned. He never heard Lotus sound so… young before.

“What do you mean?” He wasn’t intimidated by the villain’s height. Despite being short, Burnout was one of the strongest heroes in the city.

“Doesn’t matter…” Lotus muttered. He turned to the trembling employee and used his chin to gesture for him to go over to the heroes. The boy scrambled away and hid behind Skip, who was the broadest of the five.

“We’re not letting you escape this time!” Burnout shouted, but it was too late. Lotus had already shot past them, right through the only gap in their defenses.

The five heroes dropped into attack positions only to realize the villain hadn’t actually attacked him but had ran out the door and disappeared.

“He got away again!” Rocky seethed, seeing red.

“How does he keep slipping past us like that?” Blackcat asked, looking confused. His black locks fell over tired eyes, but he was more alert than anyone in the room. “Something’s up with that kid…”

“We have another gun over here!” Bloodhound called, pointing to a young man who suddenly looked scared. Rocky rushed forward and slammed the man down, his powers making it impossible for him to move even an inch.

“Another hidden gunman?”

“Lotus is really shitty at keeping goons with him.” Time Skip commented easily, reversing time and unspilling a bag of popcorn before starting to toss it into his mouth. Each time he would slow the kernels down so he could catch it in his mouth.

“I don’t think they’re working together.” Blackcat countered. He may not be able to reverse time like Time Skip or control fire like Burn out or be able to find things the way Bloodhound could, but he always listened to his intuition and was never wrong.

“The police are here to take away the gunman,” Burnout came over and smiled tiredly. “We’re not needed here anymore.”

The five heroes left the movie theater quickly, ducking into an alleyway nearby. They quickly look off their masks and shook their hair out, covering their uniforms with jackets and sweatshirts they had stashed in a big bag that Skip had thrown under a box before rushing into the theater. One perk of being a licensed hero is that they got professional suits that were easy to conceal under normal clothing. A big sweatshirt or sweater and they were in the clear - no one could tell they were wearing a uniform under their clothing.

Jinwoo finished changing first. Being the leader, he was most used to the double life that heroes had to live. Minhyuk shook out his bangs, scowling at how they stuck up in every direction.

“Is everything alright Minnie?” Bin asked, looking at his friend with concern.

“Yeah,” He answered distractedly. “I just… something feels off but I don’t know what.”

“Something to do with Lotus?” MJ asked.

“Yeah,” Dongmin looked between his friends with a slight frown. “There’s more to this, but I just… I can’t make the connection yet.”

“It’s alright Minnie,” Jinwoo said, patting his friend on the shoulder. “Your intuition never steers us wrong. We just have to keep an eye out, gather information, start really digging into this.”

“Let’s head back,” Bin said, yawning. “I have class in the morning and I stayed up all night last night trying to finish that essay.”

“I thought you said you were done that.” Minhyuk commented dryly.

“No, I said I was going to start it but we got dragged into another bullshit outing that lasted until sunrise.” He pouted, the circles under his eyes dark.

“I’m sorry Bin,” Jinwoo sighed. “I didn’t mean for that mission to run so late-”

“It’s fine hyung,” Bin said quickly. “I know what I signed up for. It’s just another thing to juggle.”

“You’d think it’d be easy for you,” MJ commented easily. “You’d just pause time and sleep or something.”

“...” Bin just stared at MJ like he sprouted a second. The older boy looked at him with wide eyes.

“Please tell me this isn’t the first time you’ve thought of that,” MJ asked, sounding mildly horrified. “Please say sike.”

“Oh Bin, you’re lucky you’re pretty.” Dongmin laughed, causing Bin to pout even more.

“I never really thought of using my powers outside of missions.” He tried to defend himself, but ended up sounding like a kicked puppy.  
Jinwoo watched fondly, unable to bring himself to join in the banter. He had a hard enough time opening up and letting people in. He was still working on letting himself be happy, and it was a slow progress.

“Come on guys,” He said, getting the attention of the other four. “Let’s head home. I’m sure everyone in exhausted.”

* * *

  
“What are you doing here?” Jinwoo asked Dongmin. It was almost two in the morning, and the basement of their house - which had been renovated to act as a home base of sorts - was normally empty at that time.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Dongmin said, not looking up from his notebook.

“Why are you awake Minnie?”

“Couldn’t sleep. This whole Lotus thing keeps running through my head. I can tell we’re missing a big piece of the puzzle but I can’t tell what it is.”  
Jinwoo moved around the table to look over Dongmin’s shoulder. His notebook was a mess of scribbles, but he knew that was how Dongmin brainstormed. He wrote everything he knew out and more often than not was able to find a connection within the chaos. This time, however, he seemed to be stumped.

“We don’t even know what his power is,” Dongmin said, sounding frustrated. “We don’t even know if he has one! He’s never used anything against us-”

“You’re right… he’s never tried to attack us before, no matter how much damage he got from us,” Jinwoo frowned. That was weird. “Now that I think about it, there are never any injuries after he leaves, or anything missing as far as we know. Why would he hold up a bank but not steal anything?”

“Exactly. His power… whatever it is, I can say what it’s not,” Dongmin used his pen to point at a list where each bullet was crossed off. “It’s not healing, because his hand was still bandaged from the fire at the bank. It’s not speed because while he’s fast, it’s just because he has long legs. I don’t think it’s super strength like Minhyuk, but I don’t have anything to back that up… it’s just a feeling.”

“Well, knowing what it’s not is one step ahead of not knowing anything at all,” Jinwoo said, patting Dongmin on the shoulder. “Why don’t you go get some sleep. You have midshift tomorrow, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I should try to get some sleep,” Dongmin yawned wide and rubbed his eyes. “We should invest in one of those big white boards. It would make this more fun.” He muttered as he slid the notebook away from him.

“Goodnight Minnie.” Jinwoo said with a smile.

* * *

  
“Ah, I was wondering if you were going to come in.” Dongmin greeted his favorite customer. He didn’t know the boy’s name, but he was there every day, Monday through Thursday between one and four in the afternoon for coffee and homework, and sometimes on the weekend for longer when he had a project to work on. He had been coming for months, and Dongmin had memorized his order within the first week.

“Class ran late,” The boy chuckled. Dongmin noticed he looked tired. “Thankfully, my next class was cancelled. Apparently my professor has a hangover from a wedding he went to last night. Lucky for us I guess.”

“The usual?”

“Can you add an extra shot of espresso?” The boy asked, looking at Dongmin with large eyes.

“Sure.” he smiled and the boy easily returned it. He went about making the drink as the boy set up at his usual table. Dongmin didn’t know much about him, but he knew a bit.

He knew that the boy could eat and eat, and yet he was still tall and lanky, almost awkwardly so. He knew the boy liked to change his hair color, often coming in with hair that was blonde or pink. At the moment, it was orange and curly, which Dongmin thought matched his face well. He knew the boy was an art student, because if he wasn’t cramming for a pre-rec exam he was sketching in a moleskin journal that never left his side. It just barely fit in his little backpack that he always carried around, the one with the smiley face patch smack-dab in the center of the bag. Dongmin could tell it was filled with something, but the boy never opened the bag. His wallet and journal were always in hand when he walked in.

The boy dug out his card to pay, and when he handed it to Dongmin, the older boy saw bandaging wrapped around his hand.

“Oh man, are you alright?” He asked, trying to be gentle as he took the card. “What happened?”

“Oh this?” The boy looked nervous. “I just burnt my hand while trying to make dinner the other night. It barely hurts now.”

“Be more careful.” Dongmin lightly scolded.

“Hey, shouldn’t this be more?” The boy asked, sounding concerned. “I asked for the extra-”

“It’s on the house,” Dongmin smiled warmly. The boy opened his mouth to protest but Dongmin beat him to it. “You’re one of our best customers. The least I can do is give you a free shot of espresso in your already overpriced drink.”

“Thank you!” The boy giggled and Dongmin felt a wave of affection rush through him.

“You know, you’ve been coming here for months but I’ve never caught your name.” Dongmin said casually, trying not to sound creepy. The boy looked at him for a moment before smiling.

“Yoon Sanha,” He said, tilting his head like a puppy. “I never got yours either.”

“Lee Dongmin,” He smiled back. He likes this kid. “It’s nice to officially meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.” Sanha took his drink with another smile and went back to his table. He put his headphones in and started pouring over his notebook.

He was only halfway through his review when he froze. The words disappeared and he was suddenly at what looked like a school, or maybe a library. Somewhere with a lot of books. There was a man, two men, three men with guns. People were crying. Sanha saw himself step in. He saw the clock on the wall - only thirty seven minutes until his vision came true.

Dongmin watched Sanha stand suddenly, packing quickly and running from the cafe without finishing his drink. He thought it was odd, but there was nothing he could do. He was already helping another customer.

Sanha ran across the street. He saw the library, and he could already see the three men walking in. He ducked behind a parked truck and dug his sweatshirt out, tugging it on over his shirt. He tied on the mask, tucked the handgun in the waistband of his trainers and pulled his bag back on before rushing into the building. He spotted the men, who were silently exchanging looks.

Lotus looked at the clock and saw his vision would start in exactly ten minutes. He took deep breath.

Someone must have recognized him, because there was a shout and suddenly all eyes were on him. He pulled the gun from his waistband and pointed it at the girl who shouted. She was his age, maybe even younger.

“No one move.” he said as loudly as he could. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the men freeze and exchange looks with each other. As dangerous and unforgiving as his role was, Lotus found satisfaction when he could see their plan being ruined.

Three minutes until Astro arrived.

“I don’t think so.” Someone said, causing Lotus to freeze.

That wasn’t right.

“Excuse me?” He said, slowly turning to see who spoke. It was the third man from his vision. His gun was aimed right at Lotus’ head.

“You know, we’ve been watching you Lotus,” The man continued to grin. Two minutes. “We could never figure out how you knew where we were going to be, but I cracked the code. You have future sight, don’t you? I can see fear in your eyes Lotus. Looks like I got the nail on the head. All we had to do was block our movements. See, I can use shields, so all I had to do was shield us until we were in place, and you never even saw it coming. Even now, this whole speech? It was all to stall.”

Lotus felt his stomach drop. He turned his head and saw the other two behind him, both holding someone with a gun to their temples. He turned back to the first man with a snarl.

“What do you want? What was the point of all this?” He growled, wishing his power was offensive for the first time in his life.

“We just want to get you out of our way,” The man grinned. “You’ve been a bother for far too long.”

“You-”

“Take one step and those students get their brains splattered on the carpet.” The man gestured behind Lotus with his gun. Where was Astro?

Lotus froze, staring the first man down. If looks could kill, the man would be dust. They stood in silence, no one making the first move.

“I would say freeze, but it seems someone beat me to it.” A familiar voice said. Lotus never felt so relieved to hear Burnout’s gravely, slow speech.

The three men whirled around and aimed their guns at the hero, and Lotus saw his chance to dash. He ran past the two men with the hostages, feeling a ping of guilt for leaving them, but he knew the heroes had it covered. He wasn’t a hero. He saw Rocky blocking his path with a frown, saw how the hero was gearing up to tackle him. Lotus saw how he could easily dodge right and jump over the hero using his shoulder as a leaping pad.

He was hit with a vision just as he was about to escape. He skidded to a halt, causing Rocky to barrel past him in confusion. The hero looked at Lotus, who was suddenly white as paper under his mask. Just as Rocky was about to lunge again, determined to take down the infamous Lotus once and for all, the villain in question darted back into the library.

Lotus ran as fast as he could, reality starting to blend in with his vision. He could barely tell what was happening and what was going to happen. He was scared. His visions never happened so close to the actual event before. He ran over and shoved Burnout down from behind.

The shorter hero flew across the library, hitting a table roughly and flipping over. He shot back up, ready to burn the person who pushed him, only to see Lotus. The villain was staring at him with wide, scared eyes. Burnout felt his stomach flip as a line of red dripped from the boy’s lips.

Lotus’ hand shook as he brought it up to his chest, where a crimson stain was blooming on his mint sweatshirt. One of the men had dropped his hostage and was still pointing the smoking gun in their direction. Lotus coughed and more blood came flying from his mouth. He realized the bullet must have grazed his lung, and he was afraid.

Was he going to die? That was never part of his visions.

Rocky, Skip and Blackcat managed to tackle the three men, tying their hands together while Bloodhound searched them for other weapons.

Burnout and Lotus continued to have a staring contest, as if time had frozen for just the two of them. The hero slowly stood and walked towards Lotus, as one would approach an injured animal. Before he could get less than ten feet from him, Lotus turned and ran. Burnout tried to chase after him, but Bloodhound called him over.

“Check this out!” He said. “They have a notebook with information on Lotus.”

“What?” Burnout knew the villain was long gone, so staying was the best option. Bloodhound was right, the notebook was filled with sketches and notes and maps, all about Lotus and what his possible motives are. Whoever these criminals were, they really did their research on the kid.

“Fake weapons?” Blackcat read over his leader’s shoulder. “He’s been using fake guns this whole time?”

“I picked up his gun at the bank,” Time Skip said easily. “It was light but I never thought much of it.”

“Where is it?”

“Back at base. I think I tossed it in the weapons drawer.”

“Let’s get these three to the station,” Burnout said, feeling uneasy. “We have a lot to think about.”

* * *

  
Sanha was in pain.

Everything was on fire and he just wished he could die already. Every breath he took was wet and choked. Moving sent agony shooting through his chest. He was dying, but not soon enough.

He just wanted it to end.

Every time he tried to use his powers, all he saw was black.

He collapsed against a brick wall, his pants coming shallow and quick. His chest wasn’t hurting as much anymore. His hands and feet felt numb. His visions never told him how he was going to die, and part of him was glad.

Sanha didn’t know what he would have done with the knowledge that he was going to die slowly and alone against some dirty wall.

He didn’t want to be alone. A tear ran down his cheek.

It hurt. Sanha whimpered again, praying death would come soon just so he could finally stop hurting.

The last thing he heard before passing out was a shout, and the pain was gone

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Yeah, look at that,” Rocky said with a smirk. He had been examining the gun Bin had picked up at the bank and was shocked to see the inside of the muzzle was bright orange. “It’s a prop gun that he painted to look real.”

“So he’s been using fake weapons, never hurting anyone or taking anything, and leaving as soon as we show up and arrest the people with the real firearms?” Jinwoo rubbed his face. This was all too complicated, and he was exhausted. All night he was haunted with the fear in Lotus’ eyes as he took the bullet meant for him.

“He’s not a villain,” Dongmin said, horror in his voice. “Oh my god… this whole time. He’s never been a villain. He’s a vigilante.”

“He’s been stopping robberies before they happened by stalling.” MJ realized with a sinking stomach.

“So he has some sort of premonitions? Like Minnie?” Minhyuk asked, arms crossed.

“That would explain how he was always able to escape,” Jinwoo shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “If he has future sight, he’d be able to see exactly what we were going to do.”

“Then why did he let himself get hurt so many times?” Minhyuk was starting to feel bad. He was the one to land blows on the so-called villain the most.

“Maybe he knew it was the only way to make sure no one else got hurt?” Dongmin suggested, and the tension in the air doubled.

“Did the blood sample come back from the police yet?” MJ asked. After the men had been loaded into police cars, Jinwoo had asked the chief to run a DNA sample to see if maybe there would be a match in their systems.

“Yeah, but there was no match. Whoever Lotus us, he didn’t commit any crimes before becoming Lotus.” Jinwoo sighed.

“He took a bullet for you,” MJ said softly, but still made Jinwoo flinch. “What happened to him after that?”

“I don’t know, he just…. Disappeared.”

“Speaking of disappearing, has anyone seen Bin?” Minhyuk asked, bringing everyone’s attention to the fact they were one member short.

“Not since we left the library.” MJ responded, looking worried.

“I’ll call him, but for now we have to go back to our normal lives. The last thing we need is people thinking something is off and connecting us to our hero selves.” Jinwoo said, dismissing his team. He quickly dialed a familiar number and waited for someone to pick up.

“Jinwoo? Haven’t heard from you in a while.” Joshua said, sounding a little confused.

“Yeah, thankfully we’ve been able to avoid being hurt recently. I was just calling to see if Bin’s been to work?” Bin worked with Josh at a local clinic run by Joshua’s friend, Seungcheol. They met at the hospital, where Bin was training to be a nurse, when they realized how corrupt the medical world was. They teamed up with Seungcheol to open a clinic where people could get actual care without having to pay an arm and a leg. Joshua was also one of the few people who knew their hero personas.

“He came in last night with some kid,” Josh said, sounding tired all of a sudden. “It looked like a gunshot, but he’s so… young. We have no idea how this kid got caught up in a gunfight. He lost a lot of blood, but he’s resting now. We don’t know when he’s going to wake up.”

“Oh jeez… well, when you get the chance, ask Bin to come home?”

“Will do captain.” Josh responded with a hint of a smile. Jinwoo said goodbye and hung up before sitting heavily and resting his forehead on the table. He was so tired, but there was so much he still had to figure out.

Why did Lotus take a bullet for him? If he really was a vigilante, why didn’t he try to approach them? They could have worked together. Where did he go after he got shot? What was going to happen now that he was gone?

His last question was quickly answered as the computer lit up with a call for Astro. Jinwoo sighed again and grabbed his mask before rushing upstairs to meet with the others.

* * *

  
Burnout stared at the scene with horror.

It took them all of five minutes to get to the convenience store that was being robbed, and already two people where dead. They stared blankly at the ceiling as their blood stained the dirty tiles red.

“Go!” He shouted the order. Rocky rushed forward and knocked one of the robbers out instantly, but the second robber took a young woman by the throat and pointed a gun at her. Burnout looked to Bloodhound, who was trying to see if there were any other weapons, then to Blackcat, who was scanning the scene to find a solution. Time Skip was by the bodies, desperately trying to reverse time and save them but it was obvious it was too late. He could heal wounds, but he couldn't bring back the dead.

“Who are you?” Burnout asked, trying to keep the fear from his voice. He had grown so used to Lotus that seeing real crime - real death and real danger - shook him.

“It doesn’t matter who I am,” The man grinned. “All that matters is that there aren’t any distractions now. Now that the… kid is out of our way, we can actually do what we want.”

“Why would you want to do this though?” Burnout didn’t understand. Why would someone willing want to hurt someone else. The man threw his head back and laughed.

“Why?” He asked back. His grin turned feral as he pulled the trigger aimed at the girl. She instantly slumped, her body going limp. He dropped her, her blood staining around his feet. “Because it’s fun, Burnout. Because I can. Isn’t that enough?”

“That’s-.” Burnout saw red. Both metaphorically and literally. He surrounded the man with fire hot enough to melt metal. As he burned, the man cackled - taunting the heroes as he slowly died.

Burnout knew the man was dead when the laughter stopped. By then the police had arrived and arrested the unconscious robber. Burnout felt hands on him, but he was in shock. It had been so long since he had to kill someone that the shock was as fresh as the first time he felt it.

“Come on hyung, let’s go home.” A soft voice called to him.

He wasn’t able to focus on anything until his mask was gone and he was tucked under a blanket on the couch. He was lucky MJ’s grandparents left him a house in their will. Otherwise he’d still be in his old shitty apartment with the old shitty couch that smelled like mold and mistakes.

He was handed a mug of tea, and the warmth helped him focus. Minhyuk sat on his right, Bin on his left. Both boys rested their heads on his shoulders and Jinwoo took comfort in their closeness. Minhyuk started shaking and Jinwoo realized he was crying.

Sometimes he forgot that Minhyuk was the youngest, only eighteen, and that Bin was barely older than him. They were just kids who were given a power and a position that they should have been too young to take. Despite their ages, Jinwoo knew he could always rely on them no matter what, even in a time like this where all he needed was comfort.

In that moment, Jinwoo felt as though things were okay.

* * *

  
Things were not okay.

In two days, there were four more robberies, a movie theater was shot up and someone caused a huge car crash in town center. In just two days, almost thirty people had died, and even more were sent to the hospital.

With Lotus’ disappearance, the criminals and villains were getting bolder. They were going out and causing havoc knowing by the time Astro or the police arrived, they would have been able to cause some real damage.

They were stumbling into the house, exhausted both mentally and physically. Dongmin was the only one that hadn’t collapsed the second they entered the living room.

“Where are you going?” Jinwoo asked, his eyes slipping shut.

“Something is telling me that I have to go to work today.” Min sounded exhausted, but everyone knew to trust his hunches.

“Stay safe. Keep your phone on.” Jinwoo said as the younger boy smiled softly and slipped from the house.

The walk to the cafe wasn’t long, but Dongmin was on edge. Every leaf rustling across his path made him jump and every shadow made him shake. He let out a breath when he was finally in the safety of the cafe. The other worker, Soonyoung, grinned at him.

“We’ve been worried about you Minnie,” he said, taking off his apron. The cafe was empty save them, so there was no worry about taking time to chat. “You’ve been disappearing a lot lately.”

“I know, and I’m really sorry. I swear I’ll make it up to you,” Dongmin said, bowing slightly. “You’re really saving my life by taking my shifts.”

“It’s all good,” Soonyoung waved off his thanks. “I’ve been asking for more hours anyway. I can finally afford these new stomp boots I’ve had my eye on for a while now. Are you sure you’re okay though? You look like crap.”

“Yeah, just really tired.”

“I get that,” Soonyoung pulled one of the chairs over near the counter and sat on it backwards, resting his chin on the backing. “With all these crimes lately, everyone’s been on edge.”

“Hopefully they’ll stop soon.” Dongmin was tired to his bones.

“You know, I kinda miss that Lotus kid,” Soonyoung said, puffing out is cheeks. Dongmin felt his stomach drop. “He was so cute, you know? With his handmade costume and shit… I bet he’s a real hottie under his mask. Besides, I never thought of him as a villain. He reminded me of Vixx.”

Of course Dongmin knew Vixx. They were one of the first superhero groups, but they weren’t always heros. They started out stopping crime from the shadows. For a long time, the police considered them criminals as well, because they didn’t follow the police’s code of conduct. In fact, it was Vixx that exposed the corruption within the police force that started a five year investigation that ended in almost every officer being fired for abusing their power. It was only after the new officers came in that they offered to work alongside Vixx to keep the city safe. They were legends.

“Maybe if he comes back things will go back to normal…” Dongmin said before he realized the words were coming out.

“Maybe… hey, do you think something bad happened to the kid?” Soonyoung asked, sounding more serious than Dongmin had heard in the whole time of knowing the older boy.

“I don’t know…” But he did know. He knew exactly what happened, or at least what happened up until Lotus disappearing. Suddenly, a thought hit Dongmin. He turned to his friend with a frown. “Hey, have you seen a student come in recently? Curly red hair and big eyes? He’s normally working on art.”

“Sanha? No I haven’t seen him in… three or four days? Which is weird because that kid is always here,” Soonyoung frowned again. “He’s cute too. Everyone around me is so cute… how am I still single?”

Dongmin wasn’t listening to his friend. He was thinking. Something was trying to connect in his mind, but he wasn’t sure what it was. He thought back to the boy, who always seemed to be injured somehow.

“This stays between you and me,” Soonyoung said, snapping Dongmin from his thoughts. “But what if Sanha was Lotus? I mean, they both have the same build, and the same hair color, and they both have a little backpack with a smiley face patch. You know, the first time I saw Lotus, I thought it was Sanha! Then I saw he had a mask on and was being chased by Astro and figured it probably wasn’t. The kid is so nice. Did you know the other day a lady came in and didn’t have enough for her coffee so Sanha bought it for her, but then didn’t have enough for his own? I gave it to him for free that day. Now that I say it outloud, it sounds crazy. There’s no way Sanha is Lotus.” Soonyoung laughed and shook his head, but Dongmin’s heart was beating wildly.

It made sense.

“Hyung I have to go,” He choked out, ripping off the apron he had just tied around his waist. “Call in Seungkwan.”

“Wait Dongmin-” The boy in question didn’t wait to hear the rest of his friend’s sentence. He was too busy pulling out his phone and dialing Jinwoo’s number.

The older boy picked up on the eighth ring.

“Dongmin? Is everything alright? I thought you were going to work.” Jinwoo’s voice was slow and deep, proof he had been woken by his phone.

“Hyung I know who Lotus is.” He panted as he ran across the street.

“What?” Jinwoo shouted into the phone, sounding much more awake.

“I figured it out,” Dongmin stumbled and almost fell. “Get everyone in the basement. I’m two blocks away.”

“Got it.” Jinwoo hung up. Dongmin made it home in record time, instantly rushing to the basement. He almost fell again but Bin caught him just as he was about to hit the ground. He quickly righted himself and ran to the table in the center.

“Hyung said you knew who Lotus is?” Minhyuk asked, still sounding sleepy.

“His name is Yoon Sanha, and he’s an art student. He comes into the cafe almost every day and order the same thing and he’s such a good kid and oh my god he got shot,” Dongmin felt tears prick his eyes. “He just wanted to help people, and he got shot. He’s probably dead and it’s because of us-”

“He’s not dead.” Bin interrupted with an odd look on his face. Everyone turned to look at him.

“What?”

“You’re sure his name is Yoon Sanha?” Bin asked, and Dongmin nodded. “Fuck, I thought it seemed weird…”

“What seemed weird?”

“After the library attack, I found this kid bleeding out in an alley. He was only wearing a tee shirt and joggers, but he was losing a lot of blood so I took him to the clinic. He just woke up this morning, so we only just got his name.”

“Which alley?” Jinwoo asked quickly.

“The one about two blocks south of the library.” Bin responded.

“If we search the alley, I bet we’ll find that damned mint sweatshirt.” Jinwoo rubbed his eyes. God he was tired…

“We have to talk to him.” Dongmin said softly.

“What are we going to say?” Minhyuk asked, sounding skeptical. “Just waltz in and go ‘oh hey sorry for beating the absolute shit out of you all those times’? I don’t think that’s going to fly.”

“We have to talk to him, and quickly,” Jinwoo repeated. “With Lotus gone, these shitty criminals are going to keep attacking and hurting people. If we can get him on our side, we’ll be able to get a lockdown on this city again.”

“Maybe… maybe being a hero isn’t actually doing any good.” Bin said quietly, gaining everyone’s attention.

“What do you mean?” MJ asked, moving to take Bin’s hand. “We’ve helped so many people-”

“Yeah, but the only reason these crimes are happening so much now is because of this weird stand off we’ve been having with Lotus. If that never happened, there wouldn’t be this spike in crimes. The police would handle things they way they always did and…. And we wouldn’t have to worry about anything. We could just be normal kids again.” Bin looked at the ground, afraid to see the faces of his team mates.

“Oh Binnie,” The last thing he was expecting was Jinwoo to rush forward and hug him tightly. “I know it’s tough… you’ve been so strong. I wish there was something I could do to make things easier.”

“Hyung, it’s okay,” Bin laughed awkwardly, trying to lighten the tension in the air. “I was just ranting a little. You don’t have to-”

“You don’t have to stay,” Jinwoo said suddenly, causing everyone to freeze. “You… you never signed any contract. There’s no shame in knowing your limits, Bin. If you want to leave… we’re not going to think badly of you, or try to stop you.”

“I’m not going to leave…” Bin’s eyes stung. He could hear the fear and pain in his leader’s voice. Even if he had so much as considered the idea of leaving, the blatant vulnerability in Jinwoo’s words would have changed him mind in an instant. “I could never leave you guys. Besides, this isn’t a forever thing. One day I’ll be able to live a normal life, but right now? Who else can say they work with the most powerful superhero team in the whole city?” He grinned and he could see the corners of Jinwoo’s lips turn up in response.

Just as Bin was about to say something, his phone beeped. He took it out and quickly scanned the message before frowning.

“It’s Josh,” He said, typing out a response. “He said Sanha is trying to leave the clinic. Something about class? We have to hurry if we want to catch him before he’s gone.”

“Crap, as soon as we get a lead he tries to escape again!” Minhyuk said turning to run up the stairs.

“Wait, are we going as us or as Astro?” Dongmin’s question stopped the group.

“As Astro,” Jinwoo decided after a moment of thinking. “If we go as civilians, he’ll have no reason to trust us.”

“As if he’d have a reason to trust Astro?” Minhyuk asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Obviously he trusted us enough to stall until we showed up and to take a bullet for Jinwoo.” MJ commented, causing another twinge to go through the second eldest’s chest. He still felt so guilty that the younger boy had gotten injured because of his carelessness. He should have been more careful-

“Hyung, let’s go!” Bin’s voice coupled with his mask being tossed at him snapped Jinwoo back to the present.

Jinwoo put on the mask and raced after his team mates, eager to start fixing everything.

* * *

  
“What- what do you mean he’s gone?” Jinwoo felt something snap. Joshua held up his hands in front of him.

“Sorry Burnout, since we’re not an official hospital, I had no way to legally keep him here. He’s an adult, and signed himself out of my care about twenty minutes ago.”

“Wait, how old is he?”

“His ID said eighteen, but just barely. He was still pale when he left, and I tried to convince him to stay but he was mumbling something about a project and wasting too much time here already,” Joshua looked between the heros with worry. “You’re going to make sure he’s okay, right?”

“Of course,” Burnout said instantly. “He’ll be fine.”

“That’s a relief,” Josh flashed a small smile towards his friends. “If it’s any help, he goes to the college in the center of town. He was telling me about the campus and I recognized the description from whe I went to visit Chan at his dorm.”

“Thanks Shua,” Skip smiled at the other boy. “We’ll keep you posted, okay?”

“Take care of him. He’s… special.”

“Of course.” They offered Joshua one last smile before darting out of the clinic. They made a bee-line to the center of town, where the well known college rested. In fact, the town had been built around the college almost two hundred years before, so the school was well known.

People stared as they raced around, desperately looking for a tall boy with an unruly head of curls, but Sanha was nowhere to be found. They regrouped, the five looking dejected as their anxieties spiked.

“What if we can’t find him-?” Rocky’s question was cut off as someone rushed past him, yelling into his phone.

“I swear to god, if I show up and you’re hurt again-” The boy was cut off by whoever was on the other end of the call. He abruptly stopped walking and screamed into the device. “YOU WERE SHOT? YOON SANHA I’M GOING TO KILL YOU.”

He quickly hung up and started sprinting off towards the apartments on the far side of campus, but Time Skip caught up with him first.

“Excuse me, but can we ask you a question?” He asked, flashing the boy a boxy smile. The boy’s eyes widened in recognition - who wouldn’t recognize Astro?

“I’m really sorry Time Skip-sunbae but I really have to go,” He said, sounding breathless. “My friend got hurt and I have to go make sure he’s okay.”

“Sanha, right?” Burnout came over and saw the boy had glitter makeup on. Cute, he thought to himself. “Yoon Sanha? Tall? Lanky with curly hair?”

“Yeah…? Look, I really have to-” The boy tried inching away only to stop when Rocky placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Take us to him.” He said, sounding angry. The boy flinched and turned white, and Burnout sighed.

“What he meant to say was, could you take us to Sanha?” He butted in, pushing Rocky aside. “We really need to talk to him.”

“Um, sure… I guess?” The boy still seemed hesitant, but was itching to leave. “Follow me.”

The boy turned again and started walking quickly, this time trailed by five superheroes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad people are liking this??? I had no idea what the reaction would be to this because I felt it was a little random of a plot at first but I'm ecstatic that you like it so much??  
> This is the second half of what I had typed up originally, so that's why it's being posted so soon after chapter one. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but seeing how I'm having a lot of fun and that the story is coming very naturally, it'll probably be very soon!


	3. Chapter 3

“Sanha? Open the door.” Haechan knocked loudly, knowing fully well that his friend was ignoring him.

“Let me try,” Burnout said, gently pushing the boy away. “Yoon Sanha? I know you know who I am. Let us in please. We just want to talk.”

There was the sound of footsteps before there was a fairly loud crashing sound followed by several curses muffled by the door separating them. They heard a lock being undone before they finally saw the boy.

Sanha looked like shit. He was pale, his eyes hollow and his cheeks gaunt. His hair was a mess and he was hunching his shoulders as if to make himself look smaller. He looked between the heroes and Haechan, who looked apologetic.

“Go away.” He said softly, his voice hinting at how much pain he must have been in.

“Not until we talk.” Burnout returned, sticking his foot in the doorway. Irritation passed across Sanha’s face before he opened the door all the way to let everyone in. Haechan hesitated in the entryway.

“Are you coming in?” Sanha asked, sounding tired.

“Um, I think I’ll come back…” his friend trailed off, eyes still trained on the heroes that were taking in the interior of the apartment. Sanha nodded and closed the door.

The heroes weren’t sure what to expect. The apartment was small, only made for one person. They were standing in the living room, and they could see the kitchen and a single bedroom from where they were. There was another door in the bedroom that was assumed to be the bathroom, but other than that there was no more space. The small coffee table was covered in sketch paper, which were filled with half completed drawings. The walls were covered in different canvases, and there were even more leaning against the couch.

“Can- can get you a drink?” Sanha asked, his voice cracking.

Why were they here? Did they figure out who he was? Where they going to arrest him? Finish what the gunman started? His mind was running wild.  
Sanha felt faint.

“We’re alright, thank you though,” Burnout said, watching the boy with worry. He was swaying where he stood, looking like he was about to collapse. “Why don’t you sit? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m alright,” Sanha didn’t want to be in a position of vulnerability. He was still having troubles with his powers, only able to feel faint hints of visions. He knew something was going to happen that day, but no matter how much he tried he couldn’t see what. “What can I help you with?”

“Sanha, are you familiar with the name Lotus?” Burnout asked, noticing how the boy seemed to freeze.

“Who isn’t?” Sanha tried to keep his voice from shaking. “He’s been on the news a few times, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, well, he went missing two days ago and since then things have been getting… dangerous.”

“And?”

“We’re trying to find him.”

“He’s a villain,” Sanha spat, not knowing where the sudden venom came from. “Why should you care about him? Wouldn’t it be better to let him die? Let him rot where ever he ran off to? Why go looking for me?”

Sanha’s eyes went wide when he realized his slip. The heroes in the room didn’t react, but that was the confirmation they needed.

“I-I meant him,” the boy tried to backtrack, his heart beating faster. “Why go looking for him?”

“We’re not here to hurt you Sanha,” Burnout said, undoing his mask. He felt his team gasp a little. “We’re just here to talk.”

“What are you doing?” Sanha’s voice was dead. He didn’t know what kind of game they were playing, but he knew he was going to lose in the end.

He always did.

“You’re not disguised, so it’s rude for us to be,” Jinwoo said, placing his mask on the table. He looked to the others, who started to undo their own masks. “We want you to trust us.”

“Why should I?” There was no point in denying it anymore. Sanha felt his heart flip when he recognized Blackcat as Dongmin from the cafe and Time Skip as the man who brought him to the clinic. This whole time, they were people he knew?

“Because we know you aren’t a bad person.” MJ said sternly.

“It took us a while, but we realized why you do what you do.” Bin looked at his feet, feeling ashamed for taking so long to understand the boy in front of them.

“You were never a villain,” Jinwoo continued, looking Sanha in the eye. “You were trying to stop the crimes before they even started. We… well we wanted to talk to you about everything, but we also wanted to apologize. We had no idea-”

“It’s fine,” Sanha cut him off. His bangs fell in his face, covering his eyes. “I knew what I was getting into. It’s fine.”

“Why didn’t you ever come to us? We could have worked together.” Minhyuk asked, feeling shaken at how young sanha really was.

“I was going to, but I saw what you would have said,” Sanha felt tears pricking at his eyes. “You were going to laugh at me. Say I was too young. So I went out on my own. I tried to play hero, but I was too weak. The first robbery I tried to stop ended with me getting shot in the leg and my throat almost slit. After that, I realized all I could do was stall for time, for the real heroes to show up.”

“Why did you let us hurt you?” Minhyuk’s voice sounded choked. Sanha let out a huff of air that could be considered a humorless laugh.

“Because if I didn’t, things would have gone wrong. A few times, there was no way to avoid it, so I just let it happen. I’ve learned to heal quickly.”

“Sanha, how long have you had your powers?” Dongmin asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Most powers showed themselves around the ages of 9-14, sometimes sooner and sometimes later. Sometimes the powers developed for no reason, and sometimes they developed to survive. Those who fell in the latter category tended to be stronger than the former. Sanha bit his lip before responding.

“Since high school,” Sanha said truthfully, not knowing why he was being so open. “Around junior year.”

“So you see whole visions?” Dongmin asked. They were right, his power was like Dongmin’s, only stronger.

“Yeah, that’s how I know where to go. I can see the place and I look for a clock or something in the background to tell me when to go.” Sanha sounded so young.

“Sanha…” no one knew what to say. Sanha’s breathing seemed labored, and his face was starting to turn a sickly green color.

“Woah!” Bin called out as Sanha began to fall. The older boy just barely caught him before he hit the ground. “Why did you leave the clinic? You’re in no shape to be walking around.”

“I couldn’t miss anymore class,” Sanha grumbled, his eyes unfocused. “Besides, I needed to get back. You guys needed me…”

“Hold on,” Bin easily picked Sanha up and carried him to the bedroom, which was just as much of a mess as the living room. Bin noticed sketches of Lotus on a corkboard and smiled a little to himself. He placed the boy gently onto the bed and grimaced a little. “This might be uncomfortable, but it’s better than letting this be.”

“What-?” Sanha’s question was cut off as Bin placed a hand over the wound on his chest. He activated his powers, speeding up time for the area of the wound alone. Sanha could feel his flesh meshing back together and the skin growing where there was a hole literal seconds before. The feeling was more than just uncomfortable - Sanha felt himself trying to escape from the sensation of his body moving against his will.

“Don’t worry,” Bin said, knowing how unsettling it was. “I’ll be done in a second.”

True to his word, he removed his hand from the boy’s chest after a moment. Sanha felt his whole body buzz and his heartbeat seemed to refuse to slow down.

He pulled his shirt out by the collar to check his chest and was shocked to see only a puckered scar were there was a hole that morning.

“What do you want from me?” He asked, his voice shaking. The other five looked at each other, not sure what he meant.

“We don’t want anything-”

“Yeah right,” Sanha cut him off, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. “No one helps me without wanting something in return. What is it? Want me to stay away? Stop being Lotus?”

“That’s actually the opposite of why we’re here,” Jinwoo said, a little shocked at how suddenly Sanha’s demeanor changed. “We need Lotus back. These crimes are getting out of control and we need you on our team.”

“Do you know why I picked the name Lotus?” Sanha asked, sounding much older than he actually was. Jinwoo shook his head slowly. It had been a topic of debate when the villain first came about, but after the first few months they stopped caring why he picked his name and focused more on why he was doing what he was doing. “It wasn’t actually supposed to be lotus, like the flower. It’s LOTE-S.”

“Lote-s?” Jinwoo tested the name on his tongue and could see where the confusion came from.

“Lesser Of Two Evils, Sanha,” The boy said, looking at his hands. “When I realized I had to play villain, I thought it was fitting. I really was the lesser of two evils.”

“You were never evil though.” Dongmin said softly, causing Sanha to smile ruefully.

“It didn’t matter if I was or not,” he said, covering his face with his shaking hand. “All that mattered was that I stopped people from getting hurt.”

“Well, they’re getting hurt now,” Jinwoo said, not sparing any feelings. Sanha flinched away, staring at the older boy with wide eyes. “Ever since you disappeared, criminals decided they had free run of the town. When they realized they could basically do anything they wanted before we showed up, they did just that. Thirty people have already died.”

“It’s been two days…” Sanha looked like he was going to throw up.

“That’s why it’s so important that you come back,” Jinwoo said, taking Sanha’s hand. The boy’s fingers were slimmer and longer than his, and shook under his touch. “Sanha, we came here to ask you to join our team. I know… we really haven’t done much to convince you to take up our offer but-”

“Okay.” Sanha said quietly.

“O-okay?” Jinwoo blinked at the boy.

“Yeah, I’ll join your team,” He offered the older boy a watery smile. “I was getting tired of being a bad guy…”

“You were never a bad guy Sanha.” MJ said, pulling the taller boy into a hug.

Jinwoo watched the scene with a sense of nostalgia. It wasn’t all that long ago that he was the one being held - being told he wasn’t a bad guy. Powers that develop out of necessity are stronger, and harder to control.

Unlike Sanha, however, Jinwoo had been a real, honest to god villain. He had been using his powers to steal and hurt people who tried to stop him. He wasn’t exactly doing it because he wanted to, but the fact that he could drove him. He was no longer the weak little child that would be burned by a cigarette if he made a noise, or hit if he cried. The night his father tried to burn his cheek with a red hot cigarette tip was the night Jinwoo’s powers came out, and the night he killed for the first time.

Jinwoo shook his head clear of his memories and focused on how Sanha was now sobbing in MJ’s arms as the eldest whispered comforts to him.

“Sanha, do you want to come see our base?” Jinwoo offered with a warm smile. “It’ll be your base too, so you should get used to the layout. You’re welcome to stay at the house as well, if you wanted to. The rest of us do, and it’ll be easier in a crisis if everyone is together.”

“Alright.” Sanha sniffled and wiped his cheeks with his sleeve. Jinwoo smiled again and took his hand, pulling him from the apartment.

* * *

  
“What happened with Astro?” Haechan asked Sanha, who had called the other boy once he settled down at the house. His new members insisted that he slept over. Bin said it was so he could keep an eye on his wound and MJ said it was so they could bond as a team.

“They wanted to talk,” Sanha said, not sure how much to tell his friend. “About me joining their team.”

“What?” Haechan screeched to the point where Sanha had to pull the phone away from his ear. “You have a power and you never told me?”

“Well, it never really came up… besides, it isn’t always safe to say if you do or not.” Sanha really wanted to confide in his friend but he understood the dangers.

“That’s true I guess… Are you alright though? You said you were shot?”

“Yeah, but I’m good now. Time Skip managed to heal me, so there’s nothing to worry about now.” Sanha’s chest warmed at the concern in Haechan’s voice.

“I mean, there’s always a reason to worry about when it comes to you,” Haechan laughed a little. “You’re such a clutz. Did you know the cashier at the convenience store knows my name now? And asks if you’re okay whenever I go in to buy bandages?”

“Ah, I didn’t know that,” Sanha rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll explain more later, I promise. RIght now it’s kinda secret though.”

“Top secret superhero stuff. Got it.” Haechan giggled.

“I have to go, but I really meant it when I said I would explain.”

“I’ll hold you to it! Take care of yourself Sanha. A lot of people care about you.” Haechan’s voice sounded more serious than usual. Sanha smiled as he tucked his phone in his pocket again and went back out where the others were waiting for him.

“Everything alright?” Bin asked as the youngest boy joined them again.

“Yeah, my friend was just checking up on me.”

“Did you you tell him…?” Jinwoo trailed off.

“I just said that you wanted to talk. I told him I have a power, but I didn’t say what it is,” Sanha felt the familiar guilt again. “I wanted to tell him, but I’m just so used to hiding everything so I just… couldn’t bring myself to say anything.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Jinwoo moved to sit next to their new youngest. “Everything will work out. It’s probably best that you didn’t say anything now because if we keep you a secret on our team for a day or two, those criminals will be caught off guard”

“What’s the plan then?” Sanha asked after a deep breath.

“Well, everyone thinks you’re gone,” He said with a faint smile. “No one is going to expecting Astro to show up before they start their crimes, you know?”

“So we ambush them? They’ll never see it coming.” Sanha found himself grinning.

“But we will.” Jinwoo let out a short laugh and for the first time in days the tension in the room broke.

“Say, Sanha,” Bin asked, calling the younger boy over. “How did you make this look so real?” He handed the boy the fake gun and Sanha smiled fondly at it.

“Prop effects was one of my favorite classes,” he said with a smile. “I could have completely painted the tip, but part of me wanted the people I was pointing it at to notice it was still orange on the inside. The woman at the bank realized pretty quickly. I was worried she was going to call me out, but she noticed the real gunman acting suspicious and played along.”

“You’re a smart kid Sanha,” Jinwoo praised the younger boy. “Your parents must be proud.”

The air suddenly seemed a thousand pounds heavier.

“My parents…” Sanha trailed off, feeling a little sick to his stomach. “They don’t know I’m alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to make this chapter and the next one into one big chapter but it was getting way too long so now this is going to be even longer than I thought. Shocker.  
> I'm thinking the next chapter is going to explain why Sanha does what he does, and the a conclusion? This was never supposed to be super long, and I think four chapters is a good number, right?  
> Thank you everyone for reading and supporting! I know this isn't the usual plot for a fic, but I'm having a lot of fun writing this and I hope you're having fun reading it!  
> Also, credit to my sister for the origin for Lotus' name. Check out her twitter @trashcan531


	4. Chapter 4

“Sanha, we’re very disappointed in you.” His father said without any remorse in his voice.

“Dad, I swear I studied as much as I could-” He was cut off by a slap to the cheek.

“Did I come in here asking for excuses?” His father threw the test sheet at him. It was an 82. “You need to care about your future Sanha. Your mother and I can’t be the only ones that give a rat’s ass about this.”

“I do care!” Sanha tried to defend himself. “I’m the only junior taking college level courses! I’m trying my best-”

“Obviously your best isn’t good enough,” His father spat, his anger finally starting to show. “You aren’t special Sanha. When I was in high school, I was in all upper level classes. You aren’t some genius who can let his grades slip. You’re barely average, do you understand? When I was your age, the lowest grade I got was a 98 and I still got grounded. Do you know what would have happened if I brought a grade like this home?”

“Dad-”

“I would have been locked outside. Do you understand how good you have it Sanha? You bring home such a disappointing grade, and yet I’m not making you sleep outside.”

“Thank you father,” Sanha whispered, refusing to let the tears fall. Weakness would be punished. “I will prove that I’m worthy of your kindness.”

“That’s more like it,” His father didn’t sound pleased. “Study for a retake. I’ve already contacted your teachers.”

“Yes father.” Sanha said again, completely defeated. As his father walked away, he finally let the tears fall. He pulled out his textbook, cheeks stinging from shame and from where his father hit him. As he stared at the paper, he saw something. It was if he was having a vision of the next exam. He was able to see every single question.

So he studied.

Sanha got a perfect score.

He kept having these visions that helped him survive. His father didn’t hit him anymore. He knew where to hide when his father was angry. He knew when his father was going to be angry and came up with excuses to be out of the house that morning. He survived.

Then Sanha had a vision unlike the others. He wasn’t studying, or hiding in this one. He was bleeding out on the ground, staring up at his father who was screaming at him. He looked to his right and saw his computer. Saw the time and date. Then everything went black.

He was going to die in one week and two days if he didn’t do something.

So he devised a plan.

Sanha failed his next test because he was studying something else. Not failed like the last time, but actually, genuinely failed. He looked at the 42 in his hands, but he didn’t feel fear. He wasn’t upset.

It was all part of his plan. He didn’t mind the new bruises.

Sanha hadn’t been studying for his test because he had been practicing.

His father screamed and hit him, but it was okay. It was part of the plan. He messaged his online friend, Haechan.

“Hey,” He had said easily. “Is that offer for an apartment still open?”

“Of course! Why so suddenly though? I’ve been offering but you’ve always said no.” Haechan’s father was the dean of an arts college in a town almost eight hours from where Sanha was now. When Sanha had expressed his talent for the arts, but his father’s hatred for it, Haechan offered an apartment on campus, free of charge. Sanha thought it was too good to be true, but Haechan explained that his dad was the same as Sanha. His parents wanted him to become a businessman, throwing away his drawings and beating him until he conformed. He went to college for business and became a businessman as they wished. It wasn’t until after his parents passed away that he rediscovered his love for the arts and worked to become the dean. He reached out and offered asylum for anyone who was in the same position he had been in, because he knew how much it can crush someone’s soul.

“No reason.” Sanha didn’t elaborate. All a part of his plan.

Sanha snuck out that night and went to a place he had been forbidden from even looking at if they drove past. The bar was shady and dingy. He could hear loud music playing before he even got across the street, and if he didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, he would have run away. He made his way into the building with his head down.

“You seem awful young to be in a place like this.” A voice said, very close to Sanha’s ear. The boy jumped a little, but he wasn’t afraid.

“I’m looking for someone.” He said, looking at the man, who was looking back at the boy questioningly. He was slight with a feminine face and colorful hair. One had held some bright red drink and other held a lit cigarette.

“Why would someone like you know someone that would hang out here?” The man sounded concerned, and Sanha could tell it was genuine. He looked Sanha up and down and felt the urge to protect the boy, who seemed a little too confident standing in the middle of a shady bar by himself.

“I’m actually looking to hire someone,” Sanha wasn’t phased by the atmosphere of the bar. He looked around and perked up when he saw the man from his vision. “That man there, do you know his name?”

“He goes by TOP here,” The man said, looking closer at Sanha. He saw how the boy had dark circles under his eyes, and a bruise on his cheekbone that seemed to be fairly fresh, and a fire in his eyes that was almost startling. “I’m G-Dragon, by the way. Rude of me not to introduce myself.”

“Sanha,” He shook G-Dragon’s hand before smiling at the man. “Thank you for your help. As nice as you are, hopefully I won’t ever see you again.”

“Oh?” G-Dragon raised an eyebrow.

“If everything works out, hopefully I’ll never have to come back to this town ever again.” Sanha said, his voice dropping and G-Dragon felt his own stomach drop along with the boy’s tone. He knew what was going on. He had seen this happen one too many times- - seen too many kids with bruises on their faces and on their hearts.

He didn’t try to stop Sanha, who walked over to the man with pink hair, who was smoking against a wall on his own. The man, TOP, and Sanha made eye contact as the boy got closer, but neither said anything at first.

“Your cheek looks painful.” TOP finally said, breaking the silence between them.

“I barely feel it anymore,” Sanha said easily. “Besides, I’ve had way worse… this was just a warning.”

“Father?”

“Yeah…”

“Is it about school?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s okay kid. Things don’t stay bad forever. Eventually they work out and you’ll be able to bury all this down deep.” TOP took a long drag from his cigarette.

“That’s the plan,” Sanha said. Why was he nervous? He knew TOP was going to agree, so why were his hands shaking. “I have a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“How much would it cost for you to kidnap me?” Sanha asked easily, as if asking for directions to the bus station. To TOP’s credit, the man didn’t seem shocked. The only indication that he was affected at all by Sanha’s words was a slight widening of his eyes.

“Why would you want to be kidnapped?” TOP asked, his voice even.

Sanha explained his situation to the older man. Talked about the pressure for good grades, the guilt, the abuse. When he started explaining how he got his powers, and what he saw, he felt TOP tense next to him. When Sanha finished, he realized his hands had stopped shaking but his eyes were stinging. He was expecting to get emotional after telling his story. TOP was silent for a moment before putting his cigarette out against the wall.

“What’s the plan then?” He asked.

“You’re in?” Sanha wanted confirmation.

“What kind of thug would I be if I let a kid live in an abusive house?” He looked at Sanha and suddenly his hair went from bright pink to a dark brown. Even his face seemed to change, his jaw becoming less angular and his nose becoming wider. “They’ll never see it coming.”

Sanha grinned and explained the plan.

* * *

  
“Who- who are you?” Sanha’s mother screamed in horror. TOP turned to look at her, complete apathy in his face. He looked nothing like he did at the bar, which worked in his favor. He looked at the mess of blood and brains that were splattered on the wall, to the body of Sanha that was lying limp on the bed, his head covered by a bag.

“It doesn’t matter who I am,” He said, grinning. He picked up Sanha’s body and slung it over his shoulder, the boy weighed nothing. “All that matters is that you’ll never see me again.”

“Stop!” Sanha’s father yelled, holding a baseball bat. TOP pointed the gun at him, and he dropped the bat instantly.

“Consider this a favor,” TOP said, hiking Sanha higher on his shoulder. “We both know you didn’t want a kid.”

Sanha’s father didn’t try to argue. He just looked from the man holding the body of his son to his feet and scowled.

“Get out of my house.” He said quietly. Neither he nor his wife tried to do anything as TOP carried Sanha from the house. They watched as TOP put Sanha in his car and drive away. Neither called the cops. Neither seemed to care.

Once they passed over the town boarder, TOP reached over and gently tugged the bag off Sanha’s head. The boy shook his head and took a deep breath.

“That actually worked…” Sanha smiled in shock. Even though he had seen the plan going smoothly, he was still surprised.

“I’m almost afraid to ask how you did that fake blood on the wall…” TOP muttered, his features fading back to what Sanha remembered from the bar.

“It wasn’t fake,” He said easily. “I did some research on special effects and stuff. Turns out, getting pigs blood and brains is really easy. Painting it on my wall to look like a splatter was a little harder.”

“And the gun?”

“I got it at a dollar store and painted it.”

“You’re something else kid,” TOP grinned as he drove towards the bus station. Sanha’s bags were already packed in his trunk. “Won’t they notice it’s not your blood though? A simple DNA test would show they were tricked.”

“They won’t do a test,” Sanha said with complete certainty. He had already seen what was going to happen. “They’re going to hire someone to clean the blood and give them extra to keep their mouth shut. They’re going to repaint the walls and throw away my stuff. They won’t even realize anything is missing. They’ll say I was killed in a car crash because I was being unruly and turn my room into an office.”

“I’m sorry Sanha,” TOP really did sound sorry. “No one should be in that sort of situation. Especially not a kid.”

“But I’m free now,” Sanha said with a smile. He couldn't fight the grin that took over his face. “I’m free..”

“We’re here,” the man said as they pulled up to the bus station. “Keep in touch, yeah?”

“Of course,” Sanha reached and gave TOP a tight hug, something the man returned after a shocked moment. “Take care of yourself.”

“I should be the one saying that,” TOP laughed as he handed Sanha his last bag. The bus pulled up and the man helped Sanha load his few belongings into the carrying space underneath. “Remember me when you’re famous and rich!”

“Psh yeah, okay,” Sanha laughed, rolling his eyes a little. “Thanks. For everything.”

“You’re a strong kid,” TOP’s voice got soft. “You survived so much, and you’re still alive. That’s amazing. You’re amazing Sanha. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

“You seem like such a scary guy, but you’re just a big softie.” Sanha teased and TOP smiled.

“They say the lesser of two evils is preferable,” He said with a grin. “As long as I stay where I am, I should be good. You, on the other hand, are going to do some amazing things.”

“Thank you.” Sanha gave him one last hug before boarding the bus. He waved at TOP as the bus pulled away, and he could have sworn he saw tears running down the man’s cheeks.

Eight hours later, he was waiting at the bus station. A familiar voice called to him, sounding different in person. Haechan ran up to him and pulled him into a tight hug, almost knocking Sanha off his feet.

“I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you in person,” he grinned at his taller friend. “How did you manage to get away from your parents?”

“I just ran away,” Sanha said with a tired smile. “They won’t come looking for me.”

“Oh my god your cheek-”

“It’ll heal,” Sanha said quickly. “It’s behind me now.”

“Come on,” Haechan changed the subject, knowing Sanha needed a distraction. “Dad’s already made breakfast and he’s waiting to meet you!”

Sanha let Haechan grab one of his bags and pull him towards the town, where things were going to finally be okay.

* * *

  
“Oh my god…” Jinwoo was horrified.

“You went through all of that?” MJ sniffled, not hiding his tears.

“What did you do before getting into college?” Minhyuk asked.

“I stayed with Haechan for the rest of the year and taught myself how to paint and draw from videos online. As soon as I could enroll, I did. I moved into the apartment freshman year, and have been there since then.”

“So you’ve only had your powers for like… two years?” Dongmin asked softly.

“Yeah, but it’s getting easier to control the visions.” Sanha laughed easily, but no one joined in.

“Sanha, you know you’re safe now, right?” Jiwoo placed a hand on Sanha’s shoulder. “Nothing is going to hurt you.”

“I mean, being a hero has it’s dangers-” Sanha tried to joke but Jinwoo cut him off.

“That’s not what I meant. No one is going to hit you for getting bad grades or… or threaten to make you sleep outside ever again. You’re safe here.”

Sanha hadn’t realized how much he needed to hear those words until he did. Tears streamed down his face as he looked up at Jinwoo. A moment passed before he buried his face in Jinwoo’s chest, letting the older boy comfort him. Jinwoo whispered reassurances to Sanha until the boy felt calm enough to pull away.

“Thank you.” He muttered, his eyes swollen and red.

“You’re safe.” Jinwoo repeated with a smile, which Sanha returned.

* * *

  
“How-how did you get here so fast?” The man looked afraid. He was planning on getting as much cash from the register and running before Astro knew he was there but somewhere along the line his plan failed.

Before he could even pull out his gun, the five heros were surrounding him.

“We had a little help.” Burnout said with a grin. Just then, a sixth figure joined the circle.

Lotus was back. He was wearing a suit similar to the others - professional grade - that was the same mint as his old sweatshirt. His mask was still delicate looking, but it fit against his face better. Lotus was back, but this time he wasn’t a villain.

He was a hero.

“We need to finish up here,” Lotus said as the police surrounded the man. “There’s going to be an attempted break in at the apartment above the deli in twenty minutes.”

“Understood,” Burnout turned to his team with a grin. “Shall we?”

“Let’s go”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a suggestion to make this into a series with drabbles and oneshots. What would you like to see? I want to write the backstories of each of the members of Astro, but I could also just continue this fic with those chapters even if they don't pertain exactly to the original plot. I could also write them as stand along oneshots and add them to a series for this universe. 
> 
> Other than that, this is the end of the main plot. I only planned this to be one chapter, but it definitely expanded way past that! Thank you everyone for reading and supporting this! I don't know if I should do my usual sign off when I finish a fic because I don't know if this is the end yet!

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to keep it a little vague, so here's a little guide:  
> Sanha- "Lotus" --> future vision  
> Jinwoo- "Burnout" --> fire elemental  
> MJ- "Bloodhound" --> tracking/hunting  
> Dongmin- "Blackcat" --> intuition and luck  
> Minhyuk- "Rocky" --> super strength  
> Bin - "Time Skip" --> Time manipulation
> 
> Their powers, connections, background, ect will be expanded on, but for now that's all we know about them.  
> I've been wanting to write another Astro fic for a long time, and I was struck by inspiration after reading some superhero Day6 fics. Turns out, there's a good number of those, all of which are pretty good. 
> 
> Also, this was origionally supposed to be a oneshot that got too long, so I broke it up which might explain the strange pacing. I might go back and rewrite some if it's still bothering me, but let me know what you thin of the way the story is going and stuff!


End file.
